CD Review

At some point soon in time, I plan to write an article on "when good things go bad". No, that isn't a very bland reality TV show; rather, it is simply my opinion on when a few favourite things of mine, in particular bands and authors, have gone from being talented artists to boring wannabes that offer nothing new or exciting. Unfortunately, this phenomenon seems to be happening more and more frequently recently, making me wonder whether it is their (the artists) fault for losing touch, or my fault for just getting older, changing my tastes and just not agreeing some of my old preferences. But that is for another entry at another time...

The reason I began with that thought was that, until their most recent cd release, "Revelations", the rock band Audioslave were almost on this list. The formula was right... the instrumental section of Rage Against the Machine, a great foundation for a heavy duty rock assault, teamed with the voice of Soundgarden, Chris Cornell (who in my mind has one of the great rock voices - and screams - of all time). And yet, apart from the occasional reasonable track, I've thought their first two albums were average at best. The chemistry just wasn't there; the heavy tracks lacked an edge, the ballads were just dull. Very disappointing. I was definitely ready to give up on them.

However, Audioslave just released their new cd, and having heard a few small snippets of one or two tracks, I was pleasantly surprised by the groove behind the songs I heard, and thought I'd buy the cd and give them one last chance. Wow. Right decision. Revelations is a fantastic rock album, definitely the album Audioslave has been threatening to make since day one. It doesn't feel like one part RATM, one part Soundgarden; it finally sounds just like Audioslave. I find it really refreshing to hear a straight up good rock album, and not have to deal with all the crap around at the moment... the UK flavour of the month who will taste foul in two months time, the next Australian rock stars who are actually crap but no one will say that because they're Australia, so we have to support them... etc.

Favourite tracks of mine on the cd include Revelations, the opening track which starts gently but kicks along and sticks in your head once it begins, One and The Same, a track with the best guitar wah-wah I've heard in ages (Tom Morello is an amazing guitarist) and Broken City, which has the funkiest yet weirdest groove in a rock song that I can think of. I won't list every track here, but just about the entire album deserves a mention.

If you like authentic rock from some of the older, yet not forgotten, statesmen of the rock genre, get this album; I can't seem to get it off my iPod at the moment, which for me, is an impressive feat.